I was finally able to sit down and watch Demi Lovato’s documentary Simply Complicated today and it was so good!

The documentary is a YouTube Original that aired in October 2017. It currently has over 13 million views and with good reason.

It showcases Demi’s life–both the good and the bad. Through family issues, addiction, breakups and the pressure to be perfect, Demi has fought her way to almost 5 1/2 years of sobriety and is still working on finding herself in the process.

I remember sitting down and watching Sonny With a Chance, and Camp Rock with my niece when she was younger. Neither of us knew who Demi Lovato was at first, but I remember thinking that her voice was absolutely incredible. To look back on it now and to know that she hadn’t even tapped into a fraction of her full potential at that time is amazing. Looking at her on-screen, you had no idea that the person behind these characters was struggling with depression, an eating disorder and so many other underlying issues that had barely scratched the surface.

To be honest, I had no idea that things had gotten that bad for her. I knew that there were substance abuse issues, but I wasn’t really aware of the actual timeline of when everything hit rock bottom. I didn’t know the extent of the damage either. So, watching this documentary really shed light on her struggle and the struggle of those around her.

I would strongly suggest preventing your child from watching it if they’re under the age of 13 because it does touch heavily on drug use and alcohol abuse. However, I’m a firm believer in being honest with younger generations and showing them the uglier side of things so that they know what to avoid. This documentary takes an honest look at her struggles, the root of those struggles and the people who helped her through them.

One of the most touching moments for me, personally, was when she spoke about her relationship with Wilmer Valderrama. It’s clear that she still has so much love for him, and it’s nice to see them post-breakup still getting along and not having anything bad to say about one another. I can agree with her reason for needing to be alone and to learn how to depend on herself rather than someone else, but I’m secretly hoping for them to reconnect romantically. What can I say? I’m a hopeless romantic lol.

While watching Simply Complicated, I found myself teary-eyed more often than I’d like to admit. Viewers also get a bit of insight to the recording process for her working alongside her producers and manager. If you don’t walk away from this in pure awe of her vocals, you should probably check your hearing. The girl has got some VO-CALS!!

I definitely recommend watching the documentary, especially since it looks like Part Two might be happening in the near future. It’s a fantastic look at a talented young woman’s road to self-discovery, sobriety and overcoming struggles that so many of us deal with.